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Health: Weight Loss Drug With Results

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The results are in for the first new diet pill approved in a decade, that’s available now. 3 On Your Side Health Reporter Stephanie Stahl shows you why doctors are excited about what could become the diet pill of choice in the future.

We’ve heard it all, the grapefruit diet , the protein solution, raw food, there’s an endless array of weight loss plans. All those vegetables, all that working out, but Americans are still overweight.

But wait, the pill so many have been dreaming of may have arrived.

“Nothing tastes as good as thin feels and that is so true,” said Pamela Eidelberg, who lost 33 pounds taking the new prescription diet drug Qsymia. It was approved by the FDA last July.

“I’m no longer obese after all these years of struggling,” said Pamela.

Prescription diet pills have had a checkered past. Linked to heart trouble, Meridia was recalled in 2010, and the immensely popular Fen-Phen was pulled in 1997.

Now filling the void is Qsymia. Doctors are excited to finally have a diet aid, that doesn’t have so many potentially dangerous side effects.

“I think it’s great,” said Phrank Devine, who lives in Bellmawr, New Jersey. He is also taking Qsymia, and lost 30 pounds in two months

“I’m excited about it cause it was a good start,” said Phrank.

Qsymia is a combination of two, the amphetamine Phentermine and the seizure medication Topamax.

“I’ve got over 100 people on it because it works. People are going to generally lose 20 to 25 pounds of weight loss in four to five weeks,” said Dr. Joseph Fallon, a south Jersey Endocrinologist. He says the diet drug has become a quick hit in his practice. He says the drug works on the part of the brain that controls appetite.

“What happens is that you end up having someone who just doesn’t get hungry,” said Dr. Fallon.

“It definitely has taken that edge off of thinking about food all the time. I don’t feel hungry all the time. I don’t think about food all the time, so that’s a big key for me,” said Phrank.

The manufacturer says the medication is most when users reduce calories and increase activity.

Phrank says he tries to make healthy food choices, but he doesn’t count calories, and eats junk when he needs to. The weight is coming off because he eats less thanks to the pill.

“I think it has made it easier,” said Phrank.

People can take it forever, if necessary. It cost about $150 for a month supply, and is covered by some insurance. But there are some potential side effects.

Stephanie Stahl, CBS 3 and The CW Philly 57’s Emmy Award-winning health reporter, is featured daily on Eyewitness News.
As one of the television industry’s most respected medical reporters, Stephanie has been recognized by community and he...